Hamburger press



Feb. 1l, 1964 c. s. GLENNY 3,120,678

HAMBURGER PRESS Filed Aug. 23, 1961 CLARE/V65 5. a4 ,f5/wv);

United States Patent O 3,120,678 HAMBURGER PRESS Clarence S. Glenny, deceased, late o Rockford, lll., hy

Margaret Glenny, administrator, Rockford, lll., assignor to The Washburn Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Ang. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 135,703 4 Claims. (Cl. 17-32) This invention relates to a utensil similar to that disclosed in Patent 2,929,099, for use in forming ground meat into hamburger patties, and has for its principal object the provision of a ring body of the correct diameter in relation to hamburger bun size, having a diametrically extending yoke on the back thereof in which a plunger is mounted for reciprocation axially with respect to the ring, carrying a handle on its outer end and a disk on its inner end reciprocable in the ring to eject the patties, a coiled compression spring surrounding the plunger and compressible between the yoke and handle tending normally to return the disk after each patty is ejected, thereby eliminating a serious objection to the earlier design where the disk being unattached was apt to be dropped..

In the present design the disk, in addition to being given reciprocatory movement by means of the handle, may also be turned thereby to operate selectively in either of two positions of rotary adjustment for the molding of a thick or a thin patty, according to the position of the disk with respect to vertical ribs provided on the inner periphery of the ring in right angle relationship to an annular inwardly projecting ilange on the back of the ring body, the disk having notches in its periphery arranged to receive the ribs and allow the disk to be fully retracted against the ange in the event a deep recess is desired for making thick patties, the disk otherwise riding on the ends of the ribs in retracted position when a shallow recess is desired for a relatively thin patty.

The present design enables operation of the utensil with one hand, as the handle is depressible by thumb pressure while the yoke is held by the foreiinger and middle finger of the same hand, thereby eliminating a further serious objection to the old design which required the use of both hands.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- FlG. 1 is a side view of a hamburger press made in accordance with my invention, a portion of the press being shown in section to better illustrate the disk in its fully retracted position against the flange as in the making of thick patties, the positions of the thumb and two lingers being indicated in dotted lines, above the handle and under the yoke, respectively, and the handle and the disk being also shown in the opposite extreme position in spaced relation to the ring body to indicate the ease with which the utensil may be cleaned thoroughly, despite the assembled relationship of the disk with respect to the ring body;

FIG. 2 is a `fragmentary side view with a portion of the ring body similarly broken away showing the disk in section and turned from the thick patty position of FIG. 1 and disposed in abutment with the outer ends of the ribs for the making of thin patties; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FlG. 1.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 4 designates a cast ring body having an open entrance end in which the sheet metal disk 9 is operable back and forth freely, and a diametrically extending yoke 5 cast integral therewith on the other end or back and provided with a generally conical enlargement o on the inner side thereof at the middle, in which an elongated bearing hole 7 is ldl ilatented Fels. lll, i964 drilled in coaxial relationship to the ring body 4, serving as a guide for a plunger rod 8 in the reciprocation of the disk 9 relative to the ring body 4, the rod 8 having a handle l@ suitably secured on its outer end 11, and the disk 9 having the enlarged inner end 12 of the rod 8 secured thereto at the center thereof, as by entering the reduced projection 13 in a center hole 14' in the disk and upsetting its protruding end as indicated at 15. The rod 8 has a light coiled compression spring lo caged thereon between the back of the yoke S and the handle 1d, and this spring tends normally to return the disk 9 to its innermost or fully retracted position in the ring body '4 in abutment With an annular inwardly projecting ange 17 provided on the back of the ring body, -as shown in FIG. l, to define a deep recess indicated by the dimension a in FIG. 1 for use in the making of thick patties A, as illustrated in section in FIG. 1. The disk 9- is also adapted to return only part way in the ring body -l and come to rest at four evenly circumferentially spaced points on the outer ends 1S of four elongated ribs 11 provided on the inner side of the ring body 4, in right angle relationship to and extending from the inner side of the lange 17, whereby to define a shallow recess indicated by the dimension b for use in the making of thin patties B, as shown in section in FlG. 2,. There are four circumferentially elongated notches 20 provided in the periphery of the disk 9 just deep enough to accommodate the ribs 119 freely, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, so that the ribs 19 will not interfere with return to the disk 9 to its fully retracted position as shown in FIG. 1 in the making of thick patties A, but when the disk 9 is turned through about 45, the unnotched peripheral portions 2l between the notches Ztl are adapted to come to rest on the outer ends of the ribs 19; as shown in FlG. Z, in the making of thin patties B. The spring 16 exerts enough frictional drag on the turning of the disk 9 by means of the handle 1li, by reason of its bearing at its opposite ends on the back of the yoke and inner side of the handle titl, so that there is no `likelihood of the disk 9, once it has been turned from the position for making thin patties B to the position for making thick patties A, being turned accidentally so that the ribs 19 no longer enter the notches 2li, and the same is true when the disk 9i has been turned from the thick patty position to the tain patty position, and here are two things that tend further to insure this, namely:

(1) Notches 2li and unnotched portions 21 are both elongated circumierentially to about the same extent,

whereas ribs 19 are relatively narrow, and, hence, it,

would require appreciable turning of the disk 9 between operations to interfere with the disk making its full stroke a for thick patties A or the short stroke b for thin patties B; and

(2) The handle 1t) is operated by the thumb T of the same hand which grasps the yoke 5 between foretnger F and middle finger M, the lingers being disposed in engagement with dat linger locating abutments 5a and 5b provided on the yoke on opposite sides of the enlarged portion d, as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 1, thereby minimizing the likelihood of the disk 9 being subjected to any appreciable turning between operations.

In operation, the ring body 4 is of approximately the same diameter as the conventional hamburger bun so that the patties A and B, which are molded in the ring body, are of about the right diameter, and the only diierence is that of thickness. The disk 9 is turned by means of the handle 1t) to a position where the ribs 19 are aligned with notches Zt) when the disk 9 is defining a deep recess a in the ring body for the thick patties A, and fthe disk is turned from that position through about 45 to place the unnotched portions 21 in register with the ribs 19 when the disk is to dene the shallower recess b in the ring body for the making of thin patties E. The patties can be made quite uniform in either thickness, and usually one gets four of the thick patties A out of one pound of ground meat and eight of the thin patties B out of one pound of ground meat. A spatula or the like may `be used in filling the ring body evenly for either thickness of patty, and the same spatula can be used in stripping the patty oif the disk 9 after the handle lil has been depressed to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1, the patty being usually dropped directly into the frying pan as it is stripped oli. rl`here are no crevices in which food or Hlth can collect, it being clear from the dotted line position of the press in FIG. 1 that all portions of the disk and ring body are easily accessible for thorough cleaning, so that it is an easy matter to keep the press clean and sanitary. The fact that the disk 9 remains an attached part of the press is highly important not only from the standpoint that it wont be dropped in the midst of the preparing of hamburgers, but also from the standpoint that the operator can handle the press with one hand and the spatula with the other, and thus attend to the making of a large number of patties in much less time and without any need for getting his hands in contact with the ground meat, that having been another important objection to the old design. Also, with the present construction, a changeover from thick to thin patty molding, or vice versa, does not involve the need for any handling of the disk 9 itself, but only a slight turn of the handle 10, thereby greatly improving sanitation in the use of this hamburger press.

While this utensil was designed primarily as a hamburger press, it should be clear that it is not limited to that specic use, because utensils made along these lines could be used in forming patties of any plastic food or other material.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of the invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

What is claimed is:

1. A utensil of the character described comprising, in combination, a ring-shaped body of substantially uniform width and having an entrance end and an annular inwardly projecting shoulder provided therein at the other end, a disk having a close sliding t in said ring body and adapted to engage said shoulder whereby to define with said disk a recess of a predetermined depth in said ring body for use in the making of patties of plastic food or other material of a predetermined thickness, the patties being expellable from the entrance end of said ring body by means of said disk, said ring body having inwardly projecting longitudinally extending ribs provided therein in circumferentially spaced parallel relation substantially at right angles to the aforesaid shoulder and all of approximately the same length measured from said shoulder and terminating in uniformly spaced relation to the aforesaid entrance end of said body, said disk having notches provided in its periphery in the same circumferentially spaced relation as the ribs, which receive said ribs loosely when the disk engages said shoulder, said body having a guide d provided thereon axiaily thereof behind said shoulder, and a plunger reciprocable axially of said body in said guide and attached at one end to said disk at the center thereof for reciprocation of said disk and also rotation thereof from one operating setting to another and retained against displacement from said guide.

2. A utensil of the character described comprising, in combination, a ring-shaped body of substantially uniform width and having an entrance end and an annular inwardly projecting shoulder provided therein at the other end, a disk having a close sliding fit in said ring body and adapted to engage said shoulder whereby to define with said disk a recess of a predetermined depth in said ring body for use in the making of patties of plastic food or other material of a predetermined thickness, the patties being expr-:liable from the entrance end of said ring body by means of said disk, said ring body having inwardly projecting longitudinally extending ribs provided therein in circumferentially spaced parallel relation substantially at right angles to the aforesaid shoulder and all of approximately the same length measured from said shoulder and terminating in uniformly spaced relation to the aforesaid entrance end of said body, said disk having notches provided in its periphery in the same circumferentially spaced relation as the ribs, which receive said ribs loosely when the disk engages said shoulder, said body having a guide provided thereon axially thereof behind said shoulder, a plunger reciprocable axially of said body in said guide and attached at one end to said disk at the center thereof for reciprocation of said disk and also rotation thereof from one operating setting to another, an operating handle on the other end of said plunger for reciprocation and rotation thereof, and a coiled compression spring surrounding and retained on said plunger behind said guide, permitting spring restrained movement of said plunger in one direction to expell a pattie, said spring thereafter tending to return the disk to retracted position.

3. A utensil as set forth in claim 1 including a diametrically extending yoke on the back of said body portion in which the guide is provided for said plunger leaving room between the yoke and body portion for tingers of an operators hand in holding the utensil while the plunger is operated by the thumb of said hand.

4. A utensil as set forth in claim 3 including an extension on the middle of the yoke on the inner side toward the body portion at the guide whereby the guide is given increased length for increased bearing support of the plunger over what the thickness of the yoke would otherwise permit, said extension also defining finger locating abutments equally spaced on opposite sides of the plunger to facilitate holding the utensil by two lingers in centered relation to the plunger while the outer end thereof is operated by the operators thumb.

Glenny Feb. 14, 1961 Johnson Mar. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,120 ,678 February ll, 1964 Clarence S. Glenny, deceased, by Margaret Glenny, administrator It is hereby certified thatl error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 38, for the claim reference numeral "l" read -L 2 Signed and sealed this 22nd day of June 1965.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Altcsting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A UTENSIL OF THE CHARCTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A RING-SHAPED BODY OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH AND HAVING AN ENTRANCE END AND AN ANNULAR INWARDLY PROJECTING SHOULDER PROVIDED THEREIN AT THE OTHER END, A DISK HAVING A CLOSE SLIDING FIT IN SAID RING BODY AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID SHOULDER WHEREBY TO DEFINE WITH SAID DISK A RECESS OF A PREDETERMINED DEPTH IN SAID RING BODY FOR USE IN THE MAKING OF PATTIES OF PLASTIC FOOD OR OTHER MATERIAL OF A PREDETERMINED THICKNESS, THE PATTIES BEING EXPELLABLE FROM THE ENTRANCE END OF SAID RING BODY BY MEANS OF SAID DISK, SAID RING BODY HAVING INWARDLY PROJECTING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RIBS PROVIDED THEREIN IN CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED PARALLEL RELATION SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AFORESAID SHOULDER AND ALL OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME LENGTH MEASURED FROM SAID SHOULDER AND TERMINATING IN UNIFORMLY SPACED RELATION TO THE AFORESAID ENTRANCE END OF SAID BODY, SAID DISK HAVING NOTCHES PROVIDED IN ITS PERIPHERY IN THE SAME CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED RELATION AS THE RIBS, WHICH RECEIVE SAID RIBS LOOSELY WHEN THE DISK ENGAGES SAID SHOULDER, SAID BODY HAVING A GUIDE PROVIDED THEREON AXIALLY THEREOF BEHIND SAID SHOULDER, AND A PLUNGER RECIPROCABLE AXIALLY OF SAID BODY IN SAID GUIDE AND ATTACHED AT ONE END TO SAID DISK AT THE CENTER THEREOF FOR RECIPROCATION OF SAID DISK AND ALSO ROTATION THEREOF FROM ONE OPERATING SETTING TO ANOTHER AND RETAINED AGAINST DISPLACEMENT FROM SAID GUIDE. 